Brave New World

Been snowed under with drudge work for the mother ship, Tennis magazine, but I wanted to take a quick time-out to acknowledge the introduction of Hawkeye as the ultimate arbiter of line calls, ending the hoary tradition of blown calls, home calls, late calls, confusing calls, distracting calls, non-calls, over-ruled calls, contested calls, and catcalls (due to all of the above) having a critical impact on the outcome of tennis matches.

The only thing we haven't cured is cold calls by telemarketers - guess that's asking too much. . .

As always when technology is employed to do a job originally performed by a human being, something is gained (accuracy) and something is lost (soul).

For the record, the first player to challenge a call and go to Hawkeye for resolution – that is, the instant trivia question - was Jamea Jackson, in a match with Ashley Harkleroad. She challenged an "out" call of a ball she hit. Jackson's challenge was denied, leading her to make one of the more charming confessions we’ve heard in a long time:

“I thought the ball was wide {out}, but I just wanted to try it. I thought it was great. I loved it. It was fun. I just wanted to be the first. That’s what it was really all about.”

Okay, so we have a new toy in tennis. According to the folks I’ve talked with it, the main value of the Hawkeye overrule system (rules here) may be the additional drama and layer of intrigue it brings to matches, both for on-site spectators and the television audience.

Curiously, the old school grumblings are being led by Roger Federer, whose take was recorded for posterity by the UK’s newspaper, The Independent.

My take (in case you don’t think The Mighty Fed is enough of an authority) is that while I prefer the human element, television technology mandated going this route. There’s just too much at stake for the integrity of the game when the television audience can clearly see a ball one way while the officials (and players) on court see it the other way – without the benefit of decisive technology.

Finally, here’s an interesting stat for you all to mull: ATP players made eight challenges, six of which were successful (challenge upheld). But of the six challenges made by WTA players, only one was successful.

See, women really are more emotional, right? ;-)